land left idle

boomdocker

There's a few acres adjoining me which were bought for properly development and have now been left idle for about 4 years. Place is in an awful state briars as high as a house and generally mad overgrown.
The owner is gone awol it seems
Is there anyone I can report this to who can compel the landowners to sort it out? Dept of Ag? EPA?

onyerbikepat

I'd say the authorities would be more eager to sort out his debts first, before his overgrown briars.

evolving_doors

Any chance squatters rights could kick in after a few years if you "maintained" it.

moy83

boomdocker wrote: »

There's a few acres adjoining me which were bought for properly development and have now been left idle for about 4 years. Place is in an awful state briars as high as a house and generally mad overgrown.
The owner is gone awol it seems
Is there anyone I can report this to who can compel the landowners to sort it out? Dept of Ag? EPA?

Sure isn't it a great spot for a bit of wildlife .
Would you prefer to see a house the size of a house on it ?

Nekarsulm

probably deemed development land, so really Dept Ag not involved. Surprising some lad hasten landed a half a dozen horses onto it. Any sign of any NAMA people around it ever? such a backlog of stuff to deal with they may not have got around to the "small fry" yet. If it were me, I would spray off a corner and next spring put in a garden of spuds......:D

boomdocker

Not in nama. You wouldn't put a giraffe in let alone a horset for fear of getting lost.

its more of a problem than just an eyesore, seed blowing all over the place into my fields an the neighbours too.

but sure what can you do.

Nekarsulm

then probably some lad currently working in NZ or Oz. mightnt be back for a decade. if it wasn't paid for, might end up in an Alsops auction. yours for ten grand, Sir. Yes, you at the back with the dark glasses and the mackintosh .....:D

MmC1980

throw in a few goats they will make light work of them briers

Rosahane

A three acre field was sold beside us for something like €300K in the boom. Bought off the map sight unseen.

It belonged to an old mill that was sold separately.

The only problem is that there is no access. The only bit that ajoins the road is about 30 meters on a bend and consists of an old railway bridge about twenty feet above the field. The field floods as well.

A surveyor arrived our private lane down to my brother once to see if he could get in through our land. The brother is still laughing.

It's actually up for sale again by a bank I think.

ganmo

if theres thistles or other noxious weeds it doesn't matter if its development land or not the dept still have the power to bring in someone to clear them up and charge the landowner the cost of doin it

Miname

Armelodie wrote: »

Any chance squatters rights could kick in after a few years if you "maintained" it.

well thats just a super post. go grab someone elses land when theres unknown circumstances.
Get onto the co.co and they'll get someone to clear it, whether that be the owner or they send someone out to do it and then charge who ever is in posession. they have gotten a few places tidied round here.

ganmo

There is a law that if you improve a piece of ground over 12 years you can apply to claim it.
Now I'm not saying anyone should do it but if ya don't notice someone working on land for 12 years! Do ya deserve to own it?

Oldtree

imo no. Adverse posession is a very strange thing.

http://www.simonmcaleese.com/asp/printf.asp?RecordId=328

Capercaille

boomdocker wrote: »

There's a few acres adjoining me which were bought for properly development and have now been left idle for about 4 years. Place is in an awful state briars as high as a house and generally mad overgrown.
The owner is gone awol it seems
Is there anyone I can report this to who can compel the landowners to sort it out? Dept of Ag? EPA?

The place has turned into scrub. Given the widespread destruction of scrub throughout the Country, it good that a few acres of it are being formed.

Nekarsulm

There was a case reported in the Times last year, whereby a farmer who was not actively farming a piece of land, managed to beat a claim of squatters rights. The farmer, it seems, had from time to time stopped on the public road along his field/s and looked in.
As each half/side of the public road is mapped into the land holding it fronts, (and in times past was included in the area of the lands for the purpose of calculating the rates) it was held that the farmer had indeed been on his land at least once a year every year, and the claim of Adverse Possession was not upheld.

micraX

boomdocker wrote: »

There's a few acres adjoining me which were bought for properly development and have now been left idle for about 4 years. Place is in an awful state briars as high as a house and generally mad overgrown.
The owner is gone awol it seems
Is there anyone I can report this to who can compel the landowners to sort it out? Dept of Ag? EPA?

Contact the owner somehow and lease it.

boomdocker

Thanks everyone.

@ capercaille - the land has turned into scrub. Fine, but the landowner has a responsibility, given that his land is surrounded by agricultural land owned by other people to either keep it in an orderly fashion or lease it locally to someone who will.
Fact is that the owner lives about 20k away and despite contact from me an various other neighbours he refuses to do anything about it. I can't understand this stupidity - the land is still advertised with a local auctioneer as a site with OPP...The state of it now no-one would even look at it and he has seriously devalued it through neglect. Like leaving your car out in the yard unused for a few years and then deciding to sell it...Why???There are at least 4 people around who would have leased it...but not now. Its in such a state it would need a tracked machine for 3-4 days to clear it.

I'll get on to the Co Co and Dep of Ag and see what happens.

Birdnuts

boomdocker wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

@ capercaille - the land has turned into scrub. Fine, but the landowner has a responsibility, given that his land is surrounded by agricultural land owned by other people to either keep it in an orderly fashion or lease it locally to someone who will.
Fact is that the owner lives about 20k away and despite contact from me an various other neighbours he refuses to do anything about it. I can't understand this stupidity - the land is still advertised with a local auctioneer as a site with OPP...The state of it now no-one would even look at it and he has seriously devalued it through neglect. Like leaving your car out in the yard unused for a few years and then deciding to sell it...Why???There are at least 4 people around who would have leased it...but not now. Its in such a state it would need a tracked machine for 3-4 days to clear it.

I'll get on to the Co Co and Dep of Ag and see what happens.

Unless the land has what is defined under legislation as "noxious weeds" ie ragwort, then the landowner is not obliged to do anything under law. Scrub in itself is not harmfull to neighbouring landholdings which I assume are being farmed, so the scrub is not going to invade these areas anyways. I have an increasing number of neighbours adjacent to my place in North Mayo who have got out of farming altogether and the land is now slowly reverting to scrub and bushes. Since this "scrub" is made up of brambles and willow, it actually shades out the likes of ragwort and most of the thistles which means I have less of this type of seed drifting on to my own land. I know which state of affairs I prefer!!

Nekarsulm

And of course there is the fact that the legal owner can do what he likes with his land. Using your example of a car, if I decide to take a lump hammer to my car and beat in every panel, and then spray it pink, what business is it to anyone else.?
The dept. Ag Will do nothing, and the CoCo would be well advised to cut the noxious weeds on some of their own land before taking action against any one else!

Base price

boomdocker wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

@ capercaille - the land has turned into scrub. Fine, but the landowner has a responsibility, given that his land is surrounded by agricultural land owned by other people to either keep it in an orderly fashion or lease it locally to someone who will.
Fact is that the owner lives about 20k away and despite contact from me an various other neighbours he refuses to do anything about it. I can't understand this stupidity - the land is still advertised with a local auctioneer as a site with OPP...The state of it now no-one would even look at it and he has seriously devalued it through neglect. Like leaving your car out in the yard unused for a few years and then deciding to sell it...Why???There are at least 4 people around who would have leased it...but not now. Its in such a state it would need a tracked machine for 3-4 days to clear it.

I'll get on to the Co Co and Dep of Ag and see what happens.

Why not. Sometimes accusations can appreciate or depreciate in value. It really depends on your own personal financial situation.
At the end of the day non of us are alike, we all differ, and what is important to you may be insignificant to me.
Last month I bought a 00 reg Ford Courier van for €130 from a person who had same van lying in their yard unused for the past 4 years. On Monday of this week the same van passed its DOE certification. I put 4 new tyres on it, got a mechanic to change the timing belt and do a service on it etc.
Regarding the piece of land that you refer too.
As far as I am aware there is no law stating that any person is obliged to farm or keep any piece of land in an orderly fashion with the exception of the control of noxious weeds act.

rangler1

You might get information here

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/planning_and_development_in_ireland/copy_of_derelict_sites_and_dangerous_structures.html

Nekarsulm

"Fact is that the owner lives about 20k away and despite contact from me an various other neighbours he refuses to do anything about it. I can't understand this stupidity - the land is still advertised with a local auctioneer as a site with OPP...The state of it now no-one would even look at it and he has seriously devalued it through neglect"

If you aren't careful, he might decide to utilize the land by offering it to some people as a temporary halting site! Then you really will discover how keen the County Council are to deal with it.

I once worked in an Auctioneers office, and a similar situation developed. A Council official came to the office, on foot of complaints from neighbours about a "hippy commune" which had set up on a site owned by a developer. Same developer was in financial trouble, and had rented the site (2.5 acres) out to these nomads at a weekly rent per trailer/camper/bender/truck basis.
This site had full planning for a 4000 sq foot house. The Council official confided that whilst the council had to be seen to take action of some sort, they didn't want to have to move these people on, as responsibility would them fall on the council to find them new accommodation. And as it was five or six miles from the nearest town, they hoped to be able to "leave well enough alone" (his words)